Intracranial meningiomas in the present era of modern neuroimaging: diagnostic and management options, with radiological illustrations

Abstract

Background: Intracranial meningioma is the most common primary, intracranial, extra-axial neoplasm. It is mesenchymal in origin and arises from meningothelial cells of arachnoid villi of meninges.
Objectives: To re-emphasize the regional anatomic localisation and diagnostic radiological features of intracranial meningiomas, and do a review of their pathology and management, with a view to highlighting the worrisome clinical behaviour of these tumours despite improvement in imaging diagnosis and therapeutic options.
Conclusion: Meningiomas can be easily diagnosed radiologically, and characterised according to their sites and peculiar features, in this era. Though most of them are regarded as benign, their clinical behaviour in significant number of cases is not typical of benign tumours as recurrence rates are still worrisome.

Keywords: Arachnoid villi, cerebral convexity, CT, MRI, recurrence